Who's in Control?
by Junior BLD
Summary: How do you think the Smashers feel when the player controls them? Some of these fighters have a few things to say...


**A/N: So, this was something quick I came up with. I enjoyed writing it. Hopefully you enjoy reading it.**

What? Again? Omega 75m? How many times would he have to fight here? He wasn't normally up for change, but twenty fights on the same red and orange construction platform was enough! The variation in his opponent was a step in the right direction, and the seldom trips to Midgar were a breath of fresh air-sort of-, but, seriously?

These and many more thoughts stormed in Cloud's head, preoccupying his mind once again, so much so that he barely sidestepped Corrin's sword on time, not that he could have done anything otherwise, no matter how much he wanted to.

And, that voice! The one that constantly screamed in his head during his fights. The one that sometimes exclaimed things like "Yeah!" and "Nice!" each time he landed a powerful strike, but also became impatient, and criticized his mistakes that weren't really his. After all, he wasn't the one holding the controller.

Take earlier in the fight for example. Corrin was advancing on him, but was nowhere near enough to be hit. However, against his will and better judgment, Cloud swung his blade diagonally in front of him, attempting to initiate the first hit of his Cross Slash. He did this again and again, though Corrin was still at least a few feet away.

As a result, Corrin didn't dare advance closer, and instead resorted to projectiles.

"Cloud! What are you doing?" the voice chastised when the soldier didn't dodge Corrin's compressed water sphere quick enough, as if it were Cloud's own fault he got hit.

"I'm doing what you told me to," the soldier retorted inwardly, wincing as Corrin dealt a flurry of swift sword slashes to his upper body.

It didn't matter that he possessed the power and knowledge of a first-class member of SOLDIER, or that he had years of combat experience under his belt. Cloud had no say in what happened on the battlefield at this moment. That was up to the player.

On command, Cloud charged forward and slammed the hilt of his blade into Corrin's chest, but though he desperately wanted to follow it up with an air attack, his legs rushed him to the other side of the platform. "Ugh! What are you doing?" Cloud thought impatiently as he held his blade in front of him and began to charge his Limit Break.

The blonde soldier watched helplessly as Corrin sprouted wings and landed on the platform in a cyclone of water, a recovery which he could have easily prevented with one good hit with the Fusion Blade. Mouth set in a tight line, Cloud braced himself as Corrin charged towards him.

"Come on… Dodge… Dodge…" Cloud thought, anticipating the assault headed his way. However, he just stood there, increasing his Limit Break energy as his opponent dashed closer and closer.

Finally, Cloud's body decided to do something, but it wasn't what he wanted. Instead of sidestepping, he used his energy shield.

The dragon swordsman reached through the red energy bubble and grabbed Cloud, just as the blonde soldier predicted he would.

Corrin tossed Cloud into the air, then leapt up after him and struck with his enchanted blade, which Cloud couldn't dodge.

"Aahh!" Cloud heard the voice cry out, as if the player were the one getting hurt.

The soldier felt like he was floundering, which was kind of the case due to his body's indecisive movements. He twisted left, then right, then jumped higher, as if the player couldn't make up their mind on where to land.

Then, a decision seemed to have been made, and Cloud resumed charging his Limit energy as he fell to the ground. Corrin was right under him, and he only had seconds to act. "Climhazzard…" Cloud thought, struggling to break out of his vulnerable state.

"Come on! Charge faster!" the voice ordered fiercely.

Cloud's mind was about to burst with frustration. The player did know that his Limit meter wasn't even half full, didn't they? The soldier had just tried, and failed, to land a Finishing Touch while Corrin was nowhere near him, and thanks to the player's inaccuracy, Corrin hadn't even sustained enough damage for the attack to achieve its desired launch distance.

Speaking of Corrin, the swordsman hit Cloud with another aerial strike, sending him flying out of bounds.

"I made a mistake!" the player huffed, seeming to realize their miscalculations.

"I just said that," Cloud thought irritably, having uttered the phrase when the recovery light claimed him.

The player's voice often parroted him when he charged his Limit Break to full capacity, or when taunting his opponent after scoring a particularly good knock out, which was rather flattering, but when Cloud was the one being KO'd, it was just annoying.

Moments later, Cloud and Corrin had appeared on the winner's pavilion, the latter changing into his dragon form to celebrate his victory.

Cloud clapped politely, though internally, he was confused, and more than a little upset. Each time, he had been forced to fight opponents he should have been able to beat, and each time, he had lost.

This fight wasn't even the worst of it. Sometimes, it was as if the gamer was distracted, which resulted in early knock outs with less than twenty percent damage because Cloud's body failed to do what he wanted it to.

During a fight with Diddy Kong, Cloud had been launched from the platform, and instead of ascending upward with his sword via Climhazzard, his arm swung wildly, and he fired a blade beam. He lost that battle, too, though the player sounded genuinely concerned when screaming his name.

It wasn't the best situation, but it was better than Sephiroth's mind control. Anything was better than that. At least the player actually seemed to care about him, and they shared the same goal, to fight and win.

There were, in fact, some amazing fights where Cloud had pulled out some pretty insane victories, like his most recent match against Samus.

They were on 75m, as usual. Both Smashers had taken heavy damage, and a Smash Ball was floating above the blast zone. Samus jumped up to break the iridescent orb, but Cloud sprang after her and struck with his blade, breaking the Smash Ball and sending the bounty hunter plummeting into the void in the process.

At those times, throwing himself into the air and striking with his blade felt more natural to him, as if he and the player were on the same wavelength. But, these moments of harmony were short-lived, and most of his battles he fought were losing ones.

After a string of irritating battles concluded, Smashers muttered and grumbled, but never vocalized their opinions. Then again, they hadn't experienced the levels of irritation and frustration that Cloud had at the player's inconsistencies.

Corrin and Robin had endured more than most others, and Roy and Pit experienced their fair share of negative feelings in times past. But, Cloud had suffered these fluctuations in the player's skill for over a year straight. He was the current favorite, after all.

They say that silence is golden, and normally, Cloud was not one to complain, but when losing match after match was beyond his control, what was the stoic, blonde soldier to do? It was time for the silence to be broken. It was time he took control.

 **A/N: So, here's the story. I'm not sure if I want to add more chapters. I might make it into a series of one-shots with different characters… Or, I might give other authors an opportunity to write a chapter with their favorite character…**


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